My Business Rules

MUKTI WAS ONE OF THE FIRST NATURAL BEAUTY PIONEERS WITH HER EPONYMOUS LABEL. FAST FORWARD 20 YEARS AND THE GREEN COSMETIC CHEMIST HAS HELPED PAVE THE WAY FOR A GLOBAL ECO-BEAUTY MOVEMENT – PLANTING THE SEED FOR AN ORGANIC BUSINESS BOOM.

- EMILY PIDGEON

Just a decade ago, natural beauty was a niche market, barely registering a blip on our radars. Today, the eco-movement has exploded with a plethora of green cosmetics companies sweeping across an industry projected to be worth US$54 billion (A$83.9 billion) by 2027.

In the heart of Queensland’s southern hinterland, mononymous Mukti brought her eponymous label Mukti Organics to life in 2000, becoming one of the organic beauty industry’s earliest pioneers.

The multi-award-winning Australian company was founded by the green cosmetic chemistry innovator who set the tone for natural products with a mission to reconnect people with nature.

With a background in complementary medicine, Mukti struggled to find organic products for her beauty therapy clients, recognizing the niche in the late 90s.

“It was always a goal of mine to use products that delivered results and were as clean as possible under the guise of what is now the clean beauty movement,” she explains. “We were definitely a pioneer in the industry without meaning to be – it was just the nature of things.”

Two decades later, the sustainable eco-luxury brand has flourished globally with suppliers in the US, Vietnam, Korea and Hong Kong. It is also COSMOS certified and was the first Australian brand to use native extracts in formulations and products, plus Mukti has published a book, Truth in Beauty.

“I didn’t have any startup capital, so it’s been bootstrapping all the way,” she says. “I’ve definitely been through challenges, but that’s part of the entrepreneurial journey.”

Mukti, whose name originates from Sanskrit, sat down with us to share the biggest lessons she’s learned during her business venture.

RULE #1